Government has identified 7.5m new taxpayers, Senate told
By: Ijaz kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Wednesday informed the government has identified 7.5 million potential people from various sources including National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), traveling etc who can pay tax and they would be brought under tax net.
Responding to a question State Minister for Finance Saleem Mandviwalla told the house appropriate measures were taken to bring them under tax net. He informed the house during 2011-12, the government issued 338,8118 NTN and about 811,343 people have submitted their tax return.
Regarding NAB chairman claimed of Rs 14 billion daily corruptions, he said there was no record of this figure and it was not based on reality. However a committee headed by federal law minister already taken this issue.
The House in written was informed a significant segment of Pakistan’s economy is undocumented. The national exchequer is not receiving its due share from a large number of persons deriving taxable income but not filing their return of income.
A large number of businesses and individuals who are regularly filing their income tax returns are avoiding their legal obligations by either under-declaring or not correctly declaring their assets and/or income.
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has managed to gain access to the data about multiple bank accounts, travels, assets and other details of non-filers. In view of the large number of unregistered and registered non-filers, FBR is offering an opportunity to these non-filers for bringing them within the tax system in a honourable and easy manner for regularisation of income tax affairs of such persons. Based on the available information the proposed initiative is two-fold.
Tax registration and enforcement initiative 2012 has been devised to attempt through a simple scheme to register and bring into tax net non-filers of tax returns. A fixed tax is proposed and provides cover to un-declared income/assets up to Rs 5 million.
As a complement to the above initiative the Investment Tax Scheme 2012 will attempt through a simple scheme to provide a mechanism and cover to regular filers in addition to non filers of income tax returns to declare undeclared income assets/expenditure upto the value of Rs 5 million by payment of token tax. Additional assets/income can be regularised by payment of investment tax as per proposed slab.
Both the initiatives are measures to enhance the number of taxpayers and to bring the undocumented income/ assets into the documented sector, which will provide buoyancy to the national economy and deepen and broaden the tax base. The proposed initiatives are expected to generate estimated revenues of Rs 70 billion and to increase the number of taxpayers to around 4 million.
The tax evaders not availing the schemes shall face major penalties like placement of their names on the Exit Control List, cancellation of passports and Computerized National Identity Cards and seizure of bank accounts.
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